Tablets and dual-core smartphones may have been hogging the spotlight at CES, but we also got a pair of high-profile,
QWERTY-packing Android sliders at the show: the HTC Evo Shift 4G from Sprint, and the Motorola Cliq 2 for T-Mobile. I've got both handsets here at Gadget Hound world headquarters; read on for some first impressions.
Both the Evo Shift ($149 with a two-year contract, available now) and the Cliq 2 (due January 19, no pricing details yet) are staking out the middle ground of the emerging Android landscape.
For example, we're not talking cutting-edge processors here: The Evo Shift has a middle-of-the-road 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7630 processor, while the Cliq 2's 1GHz processor will pale compared to the dual-core Tegra 2 chips in upcoming hot-rod Android phones.
Tablets and dual-core smartphones may have been hogging the spotlight at CES, but we also got a pair of high-profile, QWERTY-packing Android sliders at the show: the HTC Evo Shift 4G from Sprint, and the Motorola Cliq 2 for T-Mobile. I've got both handsets here at Gadget Hound world headquarters; read on for some first impressions.
Both the Evo Shift ($149 with a two-year contract, available now) and the Cliq 2 (due January 19, no pricing details yet) are staking out the middle ground of the emerging Android landscape.
For example, we're not talking cutting-edge processors here: The Evo Shift has a middle-of-the-road 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7630 processor, while the Cliq 2's 1GHz processor will pale compared to the dual-core Tegra 2 chips in upcoming hot-rod Android phones.
Both handsets veer toward the bulky side — not too surprising, given that they each have slide-out QWERTY keypads. The Cliq 2 weighs in a a good 6.2 ounces, while the Evo Shift is slightly lighter at 5.8 ounces, and both devices are a little over a half-inch thick (the Cliq 2 is a hair thicker than the Evo Shift). That said, both phones managed to pass my pocket test — that is, each one fit comfortably in my front jeans pocket, even when sitting down.
The competing QWERTY phones both boast vivid, sharp-looking WVGA displays; because it's slightly shorter and squatter, though, the Evo Shift's display looks a bit bigger than the Cliq 2's, which went for a taller, narrower look.
The Evo Shift also scores points with its snazzy "Sense" skin, which comes with a great-looking analog-flip clock and animated weather widgets. The Cliq 2's Motorblur-enabled social networking widgets aren't bad, and they're perfectly functional, but lack the razzle-dazzle of HTC's Sense UI.
On the other hand, I preferred the smoother slider action on the Cliq 2, which slides open with a satisfying click. The Evo Shift 4G felt stiff when I slid the keypad open, and just sort of stopped when fully extended.
And that brings us to the main event: the QWERTY keypads themselves. The HTC Evo Shift (above) plays it safe with relatively conventional, roomy four-row keypad with chicklet-style keys.
The Cliq 2, meanwhile, goes a riskier route with a one-piece membrane, with the domed keys arranged honeycomb-style and squeezed together a little more tightly than they are on the Evo Shift.
At first glance, I thought I'd hate the Cliq 2 keypad; it looks chintzy, and I typically prefer individual QWERTY keys to the single-membrane approach.
But a funny thing happened as I launched into my testing: I quickly warmed to the Cliq's highly tactile keypad, my thumbs flying across the keys with nary a wrong tap. On the Evo Shift's wider keypad, my typing was more tentative, with the slippery keys a little tougher to distinguish from each other.
That's just my opinion, though. Make sure to test-drive both handsets yourself before getting one (or neither) of them. Speaking purely for myself, I'm split; I like the overall look and feel of the HTC Evo Shift 4G, but I prefer the Cliq 2's keypad.
source: news.yahoo.com/
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